Friction-clutch.



Q/Vi messed v No. 894,361. PATENTED JULY 28, 1908. E. BAUROTH.

FRICTION CLUTCH.

APPLICATION IILBD AUG. 8.1907.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

No. 894,361. PATENTED JULY 28, 1908.

E. BAUROTH.

FRICTION CLUTCH.

APPLICATION FILED AUG.8.1907.

' 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

EMIL BAURO'IH, OFSPRINGFIELD, OHIO, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO WILLIAM F.BAUROTH,

' OF SPRINGFIELD, OHIO.

FRICTION-CLUTCH.

Application filed. August 8, 1907.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EMIL BAUROTH, a citizen of the United States,residing at Springfield, in the county of Clark and State of Ohio, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Friction-Clutches, ofwhich 'the following is a-specification, reference being had therein tothe accompanying drawings.

This invention. relates to friction clutches, and the object of theinvention is to produce a friction clutch which can be readily attachedto existing gears and pulleys without the necessity of providing a gearor pulley of special construction to accommodate the same; which will bestrong and durable, of a simple construction and not liable to becomedisarranged or bind in its operation; and which may be readily adjustedto regulate the frictional engagement between the friction members.

WVith these objects in view my invention consists in certain novelfeatures of construction and in certain parts and combinationshereinafter to be described, and then more particularly pointed out inthe claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a front elevation of a pulleyequipped with my invention; Fig. 2 is a sectional view, taken centrallythrough the pulley longitudinally of the shaft; Fig. 3 is a sectionalview, taken centrally through the pulley and extending transversely ofthe shaft; and Fig. 4 is a similar view of a slightly modified form ofthe invention.

In these drawings, I have illustrated the preferred form of myinvention, and in Figs. 1, 2 and 3 I have shown the same as applied to apulley of ordinary construction, while in Fig. 4 I have shown a pulleyof special construction.

As shown in these drawings my invention consists of a friction member 1adapted to be secured to the driving shaft. This friction member, in theform herein shown, consists of a ring 2, having its inner face adaptedto form a friction surface, and supported upon suitable spokes or arms 3which are secured at their inner ends to a hub 4, which is referablyelongated to form a sleeve or ollow trunnion 5. The friction member 1may be secured to the driving shaft in any suitable manner, but the formhere shown is especially adapted for attaching it to an engine shaft andis preferably secured to the spokes Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 28, 1908.

Serial No. 387,616.

of the fly wheel of the engine by means of bolts extending through theapertured lugs 6 which are carried by the friction member 1, as shown.Journaled upon the elongated hub of the trunnion 5 of the frictionmember 1 is the hub 7 of the ulley 8 of ordinary construction. The puley 8 is provided with a suitable friction. member or members adapted tocooperate with the friction member 1, these members preferably beingpivotally mounted on the pulley and extending on the opposite sides oftheir pivotal centers and provided on one side with a friction shoeadapted to engage the friction ring 2 and on the opposite side with armsadapted to be operated to move the members about their pivotal centerand into and out of engagement with the ring 2. These friction mem bersmay be supported on the pulley 8 in any suitable manner, but I prefer tomount the same on suitable lugs extending radially from the hub of thepulley. These lugs may be secured to the pulley by any suitable means,but I prefer the means herein shown which consist of a support such as aring 9 adapted to extend about the hub 7 of the pulley and to be securedto the spokes thereof and hav ing a plurality of projections 10 adaptedto extend between the spokes of the pulley.

The preferred means for securing the ring 9 and projections 10 inposition consists of a second ring 11, of a diameter substantially equalto that of the ring 9, located on the opposite side of the ring 9 andconnected thereto by bolts 12 extending through the two rings andserving to lock the same securely in position on the pulley. Thefriction members, which are carried by the pulley 8, preferably consistof levers 13, pivotally mounted on the lugs 10 and having their innerends extending within the ring 2 of the friction member 1 and providedwith a friction surface 141 of suitable material, such as wood. Theopposite ends of the lever 13 converge toward a central point and formarms 15, the outer ends of which are preferably rounded and adapted tobe engaged by an operating member to move the levers 13 about theirpivotal centers and bring the shoes 14 into engagement with the ring 2.The levers 13 may be mounted on the lugs 10 in any suitable manner, thepreferred form, which is herein shown, consisting in forming in each ofthe lugs 10 a recess 16 extending radially of the pulley and adapted toreceive a plug 17 which extends through the same and beyond the outerend thereof, where it is provided with oppositely extending trunnions 18adapted to engage the bearing apertures 19 of the levers 13. The plug 17is here shown as having an aperture 20 extending longitudinally thereofand having its outer end threaded to receive a set screw 21 and itsinner end smooth and adapted to receive a pin 22 which extends throughthe smooth portion of the aperture 20 and is adapted to engage thebottom of the recess 16 at its inner end and to be engaged by the innerend of the set screw 21 at its outer end. Thus, by adjusting the setscrew 21, the plug 17, upon which the levers 13 are pivoted, may bemoved radially of the pulley and of the friction ring 2, whereby theamount of pivotal movement necessary to bring the friction surface 14into engagement with the friction surface of the ring 2 may be adjustedto compensate for any wear of the friction surface.

.The outer end of the hollow trunnion 5 is closed by means of a suitablecap 23 having an elongated central bearing and of a diameter greaterthan the outer diameter of the trunnion 5, thus causing the cap 23 toextend beyond the point of engagement of the hub 7 and trunnion 5 andprevent the entrance of dust or dirt to the bearing surfaces. This capmay be secured to the trunnion 5 in any suitable manner, such as bymeans of screws 24, herein shown. The cap 23 has on its inner face aninwardly extending boss 25 having a bearing recess 26, of a diametergreater than the diameter of the bearing aperture in the cap 23 andadapted to receive an enlarged head 27 of the bolt or shaft 28 whichextends through the aperture in the cap 23 and for some distance beyondthe outer end thereof. If desired, antifriction rollers may beinterposed between the walls of the recess 26 and the head 27 of thebolt 28. As herein shown, the walls of the recess 26 are provided with asuitable race 29 adapted to receive the balls 30 which are retained inthe'bearing by means of a suitable collar or retainer 31 having a raceon the inner face thereof. The collar 31 is held against longitudinalmovement in the bearing recess 26 by means of a suitable stop, such as aspring 32. As stated, the shaft 28 extends for a considerable distancebeyond the outer end of the cap 23 and has its outer end screw-threaded,as shown at 33, that portion of the shaft lying between thescrewthreaded portion 33 and the outer end of the bearing being smoothand adapted to receive an operating member 34 which is slidablyjournaled thereon. This operating member may be of any suitablecharacter, but I refer that herein shown which is in the orm of atruncated cone having its base open and its upper end closed, thusproviding a hollow member having its side walls 35 flared outwardly onthe side adjacent to the pulley and adapted to engage the outer ends ofthe arms 15, and, as the operating member 34 is moved towards thepulley, to rock the levers 13 about their pivotal center and move thefriction shoes 14 into contact with the friction ring 2. The operatingmember 34 maybe adjusted upon the shaft 28 in any suitable manner, but Iprefer the form herein shown in which I have mounted the hand wheel 36upon the screw-threaded portion 33 of the shaft 28 and have rigidlysecured a second hand wheel 37 to the outer end of said shaft. saidwheels stationary and turning the other, the position of the operatingmember 34 on the shaft 28 may be adjusted and the frictional contactbetween the shoe 14 and the ring 2 may be regulated.

While I prefer to construct my invention as herein shown, that is, as adetachable device adapted to be mounted on an existing pulley or gear, Imay dispense with the detachable rings which carry the supporting lugsfor the pivoted arms 13 and may cast these lugs integral with the pulleyitself, as shown at 38 in Fig. 4, the lugs being formed between theadjacent spokes and having radial apertures 39, similar to and for thesame purpose as the apertures 16 in the lugs 10.

The operation of the device will be readily understood from thedescription of the operation of the several arts thereof and it will beapparent that I ave rovided a friction clutch which can be rea ilyattached to an existing pulley or gear, and that the whole may be easilymounted upon the shaft of an engine by bolting the friction member 1 tothe flywheel of the engine; that the con struction is simple and notliable to become disarranged or to permit the several parts to bind intheir operation; that the device may be easily operated to move thefriction mem bers into engagement one with the other and to regulate thefrictional engagement between said members; and further that the deviceis strong and durable in its construction and the parts thereof are notliable to become broken under the strain which is imposed thereon.

I wish it to be understood that I do not desire to be limited to theexact details of construction shown and described, for obviousmodifications will occur to a person skilled in the art.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new and desireto secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a device of the character described, a friction member adapted tobe secured to a driving member, a driven member comprising a hub portionhaving spokes, friction members movably mounted between said Thus, byholding one of spokes, extending longitudinally of said hub and havingtheir supports in substantially the same vertical plane with said spokesand means for actuating said friction members to bring the same intocontact with the firstmentioned friction member.

2. I11 a device of the character described, a friction member adapted tobe secured to a driving member, a driven member comprising a hub portionhaving spokes, levers pivotally mounted between said spokes, extendinglongitudinally of said hub and having their supports in substantiallythe same ver tical plane with said spokes, friction members carried bysaid levers and adapted to engage the first-mentioned friction member,and means for moving said levers about their pivotal centers.

3. In a device of the character described, a friction ring adapted to besecured to a driving member, a driven member, an annular supportremovably mounted on said driven member, levers pivotally mounted onsaid support in substantially the same vertical plane with said spokesand extending transversely of said driven member, friction memberscarried by the inner ends of said levers and adapted to engage saidfriction ring, and means for engaging the outer ends of said levers tomove the same about their pivotal centers.

4. In a device of the character described, a friction ring adapted to besecured to a driving member, a driven member rotatably mounted near saiddriving member, a ring removably mounted on said driven member, andhaving projections thereon, levers pivotally mounted on saidprojections, friction shoes near one of said levers adapted to engagesaid friction ring, and means for engaging the opposite ends of saidlevers for moving the same about their pivotal centers.

5. In a device of the character described, a friction ring adapted to besecured to a driving member, a driven member, rings arranged on oppositesides of said driven member, one of said rings having projectionsthereon, means'for connecting said rings one to the other, leverspivotally mounted on said projections, friction members carried by saidlevers near one end thereof and adapted to engage said friction ring,and means for engaging the opposite ends of said levers to move the sameabout their pivotal centers.

6. In a device of the character described, a friction ring adapted to besecured to a driving member, a driven member having radial spokes,removable lugs carried by said driven member between and insubstantially the same vertical plane with the spokes thereof, frictionmembers pivotally mounted on said lugs and adapted to engage saidfriction ring, and means for moving said friction members about theirpivotal centers.

7. In a device of the character described,

the combination, with a friction ring adapted to be secured to a drivingmember and having an elongated hub portion, of a driven member journaledon said hub portion and having radial spokes, a support carried by saiddriven member between the spokes thereof, and a frictionmembenadjustably mounted on said support and adapted to engage saidfriction ring.

8. In a device of the character described, the combination, with afriction ring adapted to be secured to a driving member and having anelongated'hub, of a driven member journaled on said elongated hub,levers pivotally mounted on said driven member hav ing friction shoesnear one end thereof adapted to engage said ring and having theiropposite ends extended to form arms, a shaft supported from said hub, anoperatingmember mounted on said shaft and adapted to engage said arms,and means for actuating said operating member.

9. In a device of the character described, the combination, with afriction ring adapted to be secured to a driving member and hav ing anelongated hub, of a driven member j ournaled on said hub, leverspivotally mounted on said driven member and having friction shoescarried by one end thereof and adapted to engage said friction ring andhaving their other ends extended to form actuating arms, a shaftrotatably supported from said hub, a cone-shaped operating memberslidably mounted upon said shaft and adapted to engage the ends of saidarms, and means for moving said operating member longitudinally of saidshaft.

10. In a device of the character described, the combination, with afriction ring adapted to be secured to a driving member and having anelongated hub, of a driven member j ournaled upon said elongated hub,levers pivotally mounted on said driven member and having friction shoesat one end thereof adapted to engage said friction ring and having theiropposite ends converging, a cap secured to the outer end of said hubhaving a bearing therein, -a shaft ournaled in said bearing, acone-shaped operating member slidably journaled on said shaft andadapted to engage the converging ends of said levers, and means foractuating said operating member.

11. In a device of the character described, the combination, with afriction ring adapted to'be secured to a driving member, of a drivenmember, supports carried by said driven member, friction memberspivotally mounted on said supports and adapted to engage said frictionring, and means for adjusting the pivotal centers of said frictionmembers radially of said driven member.

12. In a device of the character described, the combination, with afriction ring adapted to be secured to a driving member, of a drivenmember, apertured lugs carried by'said driven member, radially extendingplugs mounted in said apertured lugs and having a radial aperturetherethrough, a pin mounted in said aperture and adapted to engage saiddriven member, and a set screw mounted in the outer endof said apertureand adapted to engage the adjacent end of said plug, and frlictionmembers pivotally mounted on said u s. Y V p 1%. In a device of thecharacter described, the combination, with a friction ring having anelongated hub and adapted to be removably secured to a fly wheel, of adriven member rotatably mounted on said elongated hub, removablesupports carried by said driven member, levers pivotally mounted on saidsupports, friction members secured to the inner ends of said levers andadapted to engage said friction ring, and means for engaging the outerends of said levers to move the same about their pivotal centers.

14. In a device of the character described,

the combination, with a friction ring having an elongated hub portionand adapted to be removably secured to a fly wheel, of a driven memberjournaled on said elongated hub portion, a ring arranged concentricallyof said hub portion and removably secured to said driven member,projections carried by said ring, friction members pivotally mounted onsaid projections, means for adjusting said friction members radially ofsaid gear, a shaft rotatably supported in the outer end of saidelongated hub, an operatinglever slidably mounted on said shaft andadapted to actuate said friction members, and means for moving saidoperating member longitudinally of said shaft.

In testimony whereof, I afiiX' my signature in presence of twoWitnesses.

EMIL BAUR 0TH.

Witnesses: I i

A. C. LINK, EDWARD L. REED.

